


Not A Dream

by shahondin



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Kisses, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pining, tag yourself: I'm Changbin, this is calm and soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26123827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shahondin/pseuds/shahondin
Summary: "You seriously think forcing Seonghwa to kiss me is going to make him fall in love with me?" He waves Yeosang off when the other offers him the plate. "Also, I didn't ask for your help. I can deal with my love life on my own."orHongjoong thinks his crush on Seonghwa is onesided. Jongho comes up with a plan to show him otherwise.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 18
Kudos: 236





	Not A Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [murmurmeow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/murmurmeow/gifts).



> Writing this made me really happy so I hope it can make you smile as well <3
> 
> Once more, I took one of Daria's prompts and ran away with it. Hopefully, this is at least a little bit like what you had in mind? Ily

"And then Changbin will dare him to kiss you. This plan is foolproof." Jongho leans back in his seat with a satisfied grin on his face.

There is a clock ticking somewhere in the background.

"Excuse me, what?" 

"Ah hyung, please listen carefully!" The younger male shakes his head in a disapproving manner and starts explaining again. "Changbin will dare Seonghwa hyung to kiss you at the party so you can finally make out and-- I don't know. Steal a horse and ride into the sunset together. I would speak the dare myself but that would be suspicious so I asked my friend. You remember him, yeah? I think you saw him at least once. In passing." Jongho continues to talk to himself a little bit more, ignoring the lack of response from Hongjoong who just blinks at the younger. 

The clock is still ticking. 

"I think you broke him." Yeosang flops down on Jongho's lap with a plate full of brownies. He picks up one piece and feeds it to his boyfriend, both smiling at each other like idiots. And no, Hongjoong is not jealous. Not at all. 

"You seriously think forcing Seonghwa to kiss me is going to make him fall in love with me?" He waves Yeosang off when the other offers him the plate. "Also, I didn't ask for your help. I can deal with my love life on my own."

Jongho rolls his eyes and Yeosang grimaces, both muttering a quiet "Sure hyung" under their breath.

"And that oh so clever plan of yours is so… so…" Hongjoong waves his hands around, trying to find the proper words. 

"Simple but effective?" Jongho offers.

"Classy?" Yeosang adds.

Hongjoong stands up, obviously done with his friends' antics. "I'm not a teenage girl in a stupid romcom movie or whatever!"

"Sure hyung…"

~ 

Hongjoong frowns at the knife in his hand. He's standing in the middle of a more or less stranger's kitchen, an array of vegetables spread out in front of him and a big bowl with cats printed on it beside him on the counter. How did he end up here? 

Well, when Jongho talked about a party, Hongjoong foolishly assumed it would be a typical college party with booze and music and whatnot. When he arrived at the apartment he was told to go with a pack of cheap beer in his arms, he was greeted by a guy with a scowl on his face who looked him up and down. Said guy opened his mouth but was interrupted by Yunho who reached around him and pulled Hongjoong into the flat with an endless friendly stream of chatter.

Turns out it's not a party at all. It's a hangout / get together / guys eating food and playing games on Minho's Nintendo Switch. And Hongjoong arrived way too early - it's 10 pm already - and now he has to prepare salad. 

What the--

"Hyung, let me do this. You can cut the bread Felix baked." Yunho nudges the smaller male with his hip until he steps aside so he could take over. 

Hongjoong doesn't question anything anymore. 

~ 

It's around 2 am and Hongjoong still feels out of the loop, albeit it's easier to just go with the flow now that he's tired and stuffed with surprisingly tasty bread. He has to admit though, this is way better than a party. It's comfortable, the guys are funny and most of the food is edible. 

Sometime around midnight the other's arrived and the beer Hongjoong brought disappeared and was replaced by watery self-made smoothies. And as soon as everyone found a spot somewhere in the living room, a merciless battle of Super Smash Bros began. 

Now, several hours after Hongjoong was introduced to the bunch, Jisung screams in whisper-shouts - they don't want to anger the neighbors - and kicks Hyunjin, urging him to speed up. However, Princess Peach doesn't have a chance to catch up with Wario. Mingi wins the cup and gives Wooyoung who drove the first two races a high five. 

Hongjoong blinks tiredly at the screen before he looks around the room. Some of the younger guys are already sleeping on the couch, Chan sits in the middle to make sure nobody falls off. Minho and Seonghwa sit a bit off to the side, one cat snuggled on each of their laps and a third one curled up at Minho's feet. Seonghwa looks unfairly handsome in general but now, in the dim light of the living room, stroking a purring cat with his sweater paw, he's so soft it hurts. Not to mention those damn glasses. 

"Boring?" Changbin's sudden question makes Hongjoong jerk. 

"No, no!" Hongjoong assures hurriedly. "It's just different than I imagined."

Changbin hums in understanding and stretches his legs where he's sitting on the floor next to Hongjoong. "Don't worry, the plan is still in action." He winks and turns back to the television where Yeosang sets up Animal Crossing and ignores Jisung trying to explain to him the best ways to catch big fish. 

It takes a minute for Hongjoong's brain to catch up with what Changbin just said. 

"What plan?" 

He doesn't get an answer. Instead, Changbin sits up straight and suggests they play truth or dare. "Just because." 

Everyone but Yeosang agrees - he's too busy watering flowers. And soon enough everyone still awake huddles around the coffee table. 

"I dare you to do the dishes." Minho fixes Chan with a stern look. The older grimaces but doesn't try to say anything to get out of this situation. Things are thrown back and forth for some time. San admits he spat in the smoothie Seungmin was drinking earlier, causing Hyunjin to choke because he shared that glass with his boyfriend who's currently peacefully asleep. Jisung fakes a few pushups and Mingi recalls his most embarrassing memory from his childhood. At one point Hongjoong dares Hyunjin to braid himself two pigtails. A few turns later and Changbin starts to grin. 

"I dare you-" He points straight at Hongjoong. _'The plan is still in action.'_ A cold shiver runs down Hongjoong's spine and he's suddenly wide awake. Jongho's plan. "-to kiss him." Hongjoong watches with wide eyes as Changbin's finger moves from pointing at him to his left until it stops. 

Hongjoong chokes on air. 

"Are you nuts?" Jisung glares at his friend. 

"A dare is a dare." 

"But--"

Their fighting is interrupted by the person pointed at speaking up.

"Well, let's do it?"

Hongjoong gulps. This is a joke, right? 

In the background Yeosang quietly cheers because he caught a tarantula. 

All eyes of those who play are on Hongjoong. He stands up and moves around the table. Stepping over Seonghwa's long legs, he lowers himself to the ground again and stares at the male leaning against the couch. 

"Are you okay with this?" 

Is he okay? Hongjoong looks up and, honestly, he doesn't know. 

"Sure." He says instead. "You?"

The other nods and sits straighter so Hongjoong has easy access to his mouth. To press his lips on his. Because that's what he has to do. Oh _fuck_ \--

Taking a deep breath, Hongjoong leans forward. He closes his eyes when he feels the other's breath hitting his lips. 

Just a few more millimeters and--

"Oh no!" Seonghwa yelps all of a sudden. Hongjoong jerks back and looks at the other with wide eyes. Seonghwa grimaces at Minho's lap where he just spilled his smoothie. "I'm so sorry. Let's get this cleaned up, yeah?" He wastes no time and pulls Minho away from Hongjoong and out of the room 

The room is quiet except for the soft tapping noises Yeosang makes while fishing. 

"I can't believe you dared Hongjoong hyung to kiss Minho hyung!" Jisung shoves Changbin hard. "You traitor!"

Changbin's entire body is wrecked by his suppressed laughter. 

~ 

There is only one reason Seonghwa spilled his smoothie on Minho mere seconds before the kiss could happen. Hongjoong is no fool, he knows the older did it on purpose. And he knows why. Because Seonghwa didn't want them to kiss. He didn't because…

Because he obviously has a thing for Minho. 

Hongjoong stares at the glowing stars taped on his ceiling. It's almost morning and his eyes burn from lack of sleep and tears that dried long ago. 

~

"Joong, over here!" 

Hongjoong cranes his neck and smiles once he spots Seonghwa waving him over. The cafeteria is incredibly busy today so it takes Hongjoong quite some time to arrive at the far table Seonghwa is sitting at without spilling any food. 

"Hyung, I didn't know you'd be here today." Hongjoong sits down across his friend and shoves his backpack under his chair. 

"I was too lazy to cook." Seonghwa shrugs. "You're still working on your paper?"

Groaning, Hongjoong is about to smack his head against the table. 

Seongwha laughs softly. It's music to Hongjoong's ears. 

"Heads up, Joong-ah. I'll treat you to some coffee and cake once you hand it in. Sounds good?" Seonghwa tilts his head at the end of his question and Hongjoong dies a little bit. It sounds perfect actually. 

"Thanks." Is all he says, eyes quickly lowering on his plate. He shouldn't sound too excited. This is a bro offering another bro to drink coffee together. Hongjoong shouldn't get ahead of himself. Not that he comes off too eager and spooks Seonghwa away… He's not Minho after all. He has no right.

~ 

"You're an idiot." Jongho states, his legs dangling from Hongjoong's bed. 

"I don't know why I let you in."

"Because I'm a delight to be around. Obviously." 

Hongjoong holds himself back from responding to this. He reminds himself that Jongho is a great friend and only wants to help. 

"So the reason you don't want to join us at movie night is because you don't want to disturb Minho and Seonghwa." Hongjoong doesn't have to look to know his younger friend is rolling his eyes. "You do realize the others are there as well? Like the whole squad? Chan even took off from work."

Hongjoong sighs and lays down on top of Jongho, his elbow _accidentally_ stabbing the younger in the stomach. Maybe he should go… It was nice talking to Chan last time. They had a lot in common… 

"Fine." 

~ 

They're watching Ghibli movies. Of course they do. 

At the end of Princess Mononoke, Hongjoong is an emotional mess. He's barely holding himself together when, a few moments into the second movie, Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs and the poor girl is all alone, crying in a strange world she doesn't recognize. 

He's so focused on the movie he doesn't notice Chan getting up to refill his glass. He doesn't notice a taller person taking the empty spot on the couch next to him. 

Several minutes later, Hongjoong pulls up his legs and hugs them close, absent-mindedly chewing on his fingernails. It doesn't matter how often he watches this movie, he always cries at one point. But not yet… Not yet… 

He feels an arm being placed on the backrest behind him and unconsciously leans into it. Chan always comforts everyone so he doesn't think too much of it when he's gently pulled into the other's side. 

Only when the person he thought sitting next to him is the one replacing the DVD some time later, Hongjoong noticed that it's not Chan besides him. 

He freezes for a second. Turning his head slowly, Hongjoong holds his breath while a voice inside his head screams. 

"Are you alright?" Seonghwa asks quietly, his arm tightening around Hongjoong's shoulders. 

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just…" Hongjoong waves one hand around helplessly. 

"It's okay." Seonghwa lifts one corner of his perfectly shaped lip. "Oh, Kiki is starting." 

Seonghwa turns back to the screen, no indication of letting Hongjoong go any time soon. 

~ 

"I don't think we can go home." Mingi stands in the doorway, drenched to his skin. He was downstairs for a second to check if the weather was really as bad as it seemed when they looked outside the window. 

"Sleepover!" Jisung cheers at the same time as Wooyoung proclaims he's taking one of the beanbags. 

How everyone is able to find a comfortable spot to sleep in Minho's and Chan's apartment is a mystery to tired Hongjoong. Soon enough, however, he finds himself laying in the corner of the living room on a spare mattress. He closes his eyes, remembering the warm embrace of his crush with a smile on his lips. However, his happy memory is destroyed by another one… One of Minho and Seonghwa standing close and speaking in hushed whispers when they thought nobody would see. 

"Is there still place left for one more person?" A low murmur pulls Hongjoong from his thoughts.

"Yeah, sure." He rolls over and presses his back against the wall, his eyes still closed. 

He wonders what they talked about. Maybe Seonghwa was making sure Minho is not jealous? Perhaps they discussed a way to share a bed without making it obvious? 

"You're frowning." The voice says again and Hongjoong has half a mind to shove the other person to the ground. 

Can't he feel miserable in peace?

He makes an indifferent noise and chooses to ignore the other person. 

It makes sense Minho's cats were all over Seonghwa. He now knows the older is often visiting. Jeongin mentioned it at some point when they ate pancakes for dinner. Apparently he and Minho have known each other for some years now because of a campus concert. 

"Are you feeling unwell?" 

Oh for fuck's sake--

"Can't you shut u--" Hongjoong's glare disappears as soon as he recognizes Seonghwa next to him. 

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow, amused at Hongjoong losing his composure. "You want me to shut up?"

"I-- I-- Uh.." Hongjoong stutters helplessly. 

"I can't believe I'm saying this but…" Seonghwa shuffles closer, his voice barely a whisper but Hongjoong hears him loud and clear. "Why don't you make me?" 

He's dreaming. That has to be the reason. He's dreaming and that's why Seonghwa is flirting with him. Yep. 

"You mean…" Hongjoong gulps. If this is a dream he can be brave. Because this is his imagination. Seonghwa likes him back. 

"Kiss me?" Seonghwa’s smile is so sweet, so affectionate.

He feels like in trance when he leans closer. There's cat fur on the pillow tickling his nose. "Yeah."

Seonghwa lifts his hand to caress Hongjoong's cheek, a thumb gently brushing under his eye. "You're so cute."

Hongjoong doesn't feel ashamed of the blush heating his face. "Shut up." He mutters once again, causing Seonghwa's eyes to crinkle. 

"Make. Me." He comes closer with every word, his lips already brushing Hongjoong's in a ghost of a kiss. 

Hongjoong's heart is beating like crazy. One second later and there's a soft push against his mouth as he closes the remaining distance between them.

It's like time stands still in this moment, no noise reaches his ears, no feeling other than content warmth is spreading in his body. He's incredibly calm once he feels Seonghwa's lips move against his own. Reaching forward, Hongjoong clutches his friend's t-shirt in both hands to pull him even closer. 

The kiss is as soft as he always dreamed it to be. 

It's perfect. 

Sighing, Seonghwa pulls back slowly.

"Joong?" 

Hongjoong blinks his eyes open. "Don't disappear."

Seonghwa frowns in confusion, his hand still gently stroking Hongjoong's face and neck. "Why should I?"

"Because usually the dream ends even before I get this far…" 

"This is not a dream." Seonghwa chuckles and pecks Hongjoong's mouth.

"Yeah, because real Seonghwa would kiss me without any reason." Hongjoong snorts and presses a small kiss to his friend's nose. "Silly." 

"That's right. That would be unlikely." Shaking his head with another light laugh, Seonghwa brushes his lips against Hongjoong's forehead. He pulls the other in a proper hug.

Hongjoong loses no time and slings his arms around Seonghwa's neck.

"Real Seonghwa would kiss you because he's in love with you." 

"Nah, he's in love with Minho." Hongjoong shrugs, his voice flat. 

"Wait, are you serious?" Seonghwa pulls away and tilts Hongjoong's head so they look into each other's eyes. 

Hongjoong pouts, discontent with the turn of his dream. 

"Hongjoong, I love you."

"Of course you do." Hongjoong giggles. "Dream Seonghwa loves me."

"Joong-ah, you're awake." Seonghwa shakes him by his shoulders. "We're both awake and I love you."

Hongjoong's shoulders start to shake as his laughter grows. This is hilarious. If he really would be awake… Yeah-- No. 

"You're scaring me a little bit." 

If this is not a dream… 

"I'm awake?"

Seonghwa nods.

"We kissed."

Another nod. 

There's panic rising from Hongjoong's stomach to his head at rapid speed. 

"And I love you." Seonghwa shakes him again, pulls him back to earth. "You heard that part as well?"

"You…" 

"He loves you. Now can you both be so kind and shut up so the rest of us can sleep?" 

"Let them have this moment, Wooyoung hyung."

"I'm on Felix' side." 

Seonghwa closes his eyes with a pained expression as their friends continue bickering in the background. 

"You don't love Minho?" Hongjoong whispers, still unable to fully comprehend what's happening.

"Please don't say that again… Minho is a friend, okay? Nothing more." Seonghwa presses another soft kiss to Hongjoong's cheek. "I don't even know when you got that idea."

"So you really…?"

"Can you please say it back?" Another kiss, this time to his other cheek. 

"... I love you too." Hongjoong opens his eyes, not sure when he closed them in the first place. 

Their lips connect once more, soft but firm. 

This is not a dream. 

~ 

"Okay, now we have to make Minho hyung and Jisung suck each other's face." Changbin gives Jongho a high five in the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> Stray Kids sequel anyone?


End file.
